Adia
by xoxAmyxox
Summary: Adia knows her father isn't a killer and all she wants is someone to believe her. OC Mac/Stella later on. Please read, is better than it sounds. CHAPTER THREE NOW UP!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own no one apart from Adia

Disclaimer: I own no one apart from Adia

_I promise I'll try to make this a nice long Mac/Stella/OC fic with DL and all the rest of the gang._

Chapter One: Adia

It was bitterly cold which wasn't unusual for the overcast time of year in November. Most days it was the confines of the church that Adia found herself taking refuge…she couldn't go home knowing what might be waiting for her.

Her life hadn't always been an array of disappointment. She tried to remember this but still woke up most mornings in distress at the fact that those memories were slowly starting to disappear. She'd always wanted to run but knew she couldn't it was selfish…although it felt as if she had lost everything it wasn't quite true, she still had her father, even if she truly didn't know him anymore.

Adia knew her father hadn't always been the way he was. Before the untimely death of her mother life had been good for her and her family. Until her mother had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time when Adia was 10 years old. Now 18, she was old enough to notice her father had fallen away from what the average father should be.

Her mother had left Adia with her father and younger brother Charlie. Charlie was only 2 months old when her mother died, killed instantly when she collided with a drunk driver pulling stunts on the highway. Her father didn't take it very well, it wasn't as if anyone was expecting him to but Adia at the age of 10 had to look after her baby brother and her father. She grew up pretty fast after that.

Alcohol became her father's best friend and he was fired from being a lawyer. When the money started to dry up, he got a job at a bar and worked late. The child minder would pick Charlie up before she went to school and drop him back home after she'd been back about an hour. she'd feed him, dress him, bath him and put him to bed.

When the morning came and her father woke up, he'd remember none of it and be the caring father he used to be for a while. He'd blame it all on a man called William, and it wasn't his fault. As a young child Adia assumed that William was a friend of her fathers but she later discovered that it was something much more sinister. William _was _her father, she didn't understand how or why that's just how it was and nothing was ever done about it. When William came out, it was when her nightmares began.

This was routine and became a way of life until things got much worse.

One fateful night her father returned in his drunken stupor and woke Charlie up in his rage. Adia rushed to the baby's and bounced him, sang his a lullaby offered him formula milk but he wouldn't stop crying. Her father started yelling saying if Charlie didn't shut up he would come in and kill them both. So she held him, held him tight to protect him from the wrath William. When he was still and sleeping, she placed him back in the crib and went to sleep.

Adia next woke to the sound of her father's screaming. William was resting for now. There were strange people in the house; all in Charlie's room but Charlie wasn't there. Her father told her through teary eyes that Charlie had gone to be with mommy in heaven and it was just going to be him and her from now on. She'd never thought of anything more terrified.

The doctor's said that Charlie had passes away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and there was nothing that could be done. The nagging voice inside Adia screeched to her that Charlie was just too still went she protected him and placed him back into his crib.

Her father remained her father for several days after that and William came and went. Adia never told a soul what she really thought had happened that night, nor about her father's additional personality. No one would believe her she thought, she thought it so often she came to believe it so no one ever found out.

Through the years Adia had attempted to remain perfectly normal and had managed surprisingly well, she'd always been good at hiding things. To get away from it all she turned to the ambience of music…singing in particular. She joined the school choir and the church choir too. Now an able soprano she focused her mind entirely on the career ahead of her and hoped her father would forget her with his problems.

"Are you with us, Adia?" Simon asked her. The musical director had completely brought her back into the material world which she hadn't realised she'd even wondered from.

"Yes, sorry…I was miles away" she replies. No matter how hard she tries to move on from what happened it never seemed to stray far from her subconsciousness. The choir sang mellow Gregorian chants for about another hour before it was time for them all to depart into the depths of New York City.

"Are you sure you're alright, Adia, you don't look too well, how's your father?" Simon collars her at the end and she can't get away until she answers him.

"I'm ok, it's just, my father went off somewhere and hasn't been back for a few days" She admits, the scenario is very common but it worries her every time still. Although he has brought nothing but burden to her life he's the only family she has left now.

"Again? Have you called the police?" he asks, she shakes her head.

"It's quite normal, he'll come back when he's hungry" Adia says trying to lighten the mood. _More like when he's in trouble _she thinks to herself but keeps her true opinions to herself.

Simon lets her go and tells her he'll see her next week. The church isn't very far from her apartment and is at home with her feet up within 15 minutes; she flicks through the news and gasps at the latest headline.

"Another Mother and Child have been found dead this evening, this case is the fourth of its kind in 6 months and NYPD are looking for a serial killer. The Chief of police strongly urges all young mothers to not go anywhere unattended" Adia feels a nagging in the back of her mind again.

6 months. Her father has been missing 4 times in the last 6 months. Surely William wouldn't kill anyone; she knew her father wouldn't allow it. Would he? Somehow she felt that her secret wasn't going to stay secret for much longer.

CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY

"Son of a bitch!" Stella yelled taking one step into the darkened alley and stepping right back out again when she sees the latest victims before her. Mac gets up and follows suit.

"You've got to stay focused, Stella. If you can't, I'm going to have to remove you from the case and I don't want to do that. I need you on this one" Mac says gripping her by the shoulders. He hates seeing her like this and wants nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her and tell her everything is going to be alright. But at this moment in time, he can't promise her that.

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just this…it's so unfair!" Stella says, wiping escaped tears from her eyes. Mac cups her cheek in his hand and his thumb slowly caresses her soft skin. Its little gestures like this give her the will to carry on. Her tears subside and he smiles at her.

"Ok?" he asks. She nods.

They try to assess the scene in as much detail as possible but neither wants to stay there any longer than needed. It's a horrible sight which they've seen three times before.

Back at the lab Danny pokes his head around Mac's office door.

"Danny! Please say you've got something" Mac asks. Danny grins.

"I've never been one to disappoint, Mac. I got a suspect" he says, sounding very pleased with himself.

"Really?" Mac jumps out of his seat. Stella enters when she notices the movement in her boss's office.

"What's going on?" she asks trying to focus at the CCTV footage capturing the face of a man.

"His name is Thomas James. I ran his file…"

"He's on the system?" Mac asks wondering why it has taken this long to find this vital evidence.

"Yes, he's on record because CSI was called to his home 8 years ago when his baby died, as it happens the baby died from SIDS but we took his prints to eliminate him from the scene" Danny says breathlessly.

"Call Flack" Mac says. Danny is one step ahead of him.

"He's on his way to the Thomas James residence as we speak" Danny says. Mac, like everyone else, sighs in relief…finally things are moving on.

"I'll go over there" Mac says grabbing his coat.

"I'll come too" Stella says wanting to be with him in case he flips his lid…she knows what he'll be like.

CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY

Abrupt banging on the door interrupts Adia from her sweet playing of "Clair de lune" by Debussy on her baby grand piano. Expecting it to be the return of her father she answers it immediately. The visitors are not what she was expecting at all. They burst in, about a dozen police officers armed and protected with bullet proof vests.

"NYPD!" Flack yells rushing into the apartment. Adia's fears are confirmed. Even though she had nothing to do with it she can't help but feel responsible for her father's actions.

"Excuse me!" Adia yells at the top of her voice. They all turn around to stare at her. Mac and Stella enter at the precise moment silence falls.

"This is the residence of Thomas James?" Mac asks. Adia nods.

"Yes, I'm his daughter, Adia" she says terrified at the sight of guns being pointed at her. Stella rushes to her aid, using a much calmer voice than the others.

"Adia, do you know where your father is?" she asks her. Adia looks around at the faces glaring at her. They scare her into telling the truth.

"I don't know where he is" Adia says simply. Flack doesn't buy it.

"Do you know why we're here, Adia?" Flack asks her.

"I think so" she says knowing her response is going to do her father's defence no good.

"You do? Why are you protecting him?" Mac says.

"Do you want to be responsibly for the murders of 8 human beings?" he says taking her by the shoulders and shaking her violently.

"Mac! Please!" Stella says, pulling him away from Adia.

"You don't understand. My father's sick" Adia says but Flack takes it completely the wrong way.

"Too right, killing mothers and their babies is a sick thing to do" he says. Adia shakes her head. It was better off keeping things a secret.

"Not like that, I don't know where he is, he's been missing for a few days" Adia says, hot tears forming behind her eyes.

"But it's not what you think, he's not himself. He's had a hard life…it's not my father who has done this, you've got to believe me" Adia attempts but she knows that no one will believe her. The truth is far too ridiculous to believe.

"We have your father's prints on the murder weapon that killed those women and their babies. We've got him on CCTV footage. We know it was your father" Mac says, unable to understand why this girl is not cooperating. Most people do when they know they've been caught out. Adia isn't budging.

"My father wouldn't do this. He didn't do this" Adia continues. Flack sighs.

"If your not going to cooperate with us, we'll take you down to the station" Flack says, it's late and no one has slept for hours.

"Tell us where he is, Adia" Mac says desperately.

"I can't tell you because I don't know!" Adia screams at them.

"Guys, lay off" Stella says stepping in front of Adia who is now quietly sobbing behind her.

"Stella, quit messing around" Flack says irritated. Mac turns to her.

"Stella what's got into you?" Mac asks.

"Mac! What the hell has got into you? We have no evidence that implicates her to the murders yet we're treating her like the suspect" Stella says.

"If she's with holding information she's just as involved" Mac says. Stella shakes her head and looks at Adia.

"Does she look as if she knows where he is? You're scaring her to death! She can't be more than 18, the poor kids terrified. Coming in here screaming and shouting isn't going to help us at all…let me try and speak to her, alone" she says. Mac relaxes, knowing as always that Stella is right.

"Ok. Guys, Stella's gonna talk to her, as soon as we know anything we'll let you know" Mac says. Flack stands down and the other officers file out of the apartment.

"Do we have to go to the station?" Adia sobs like the 10 year old that holds all the horrid memories. Stella puts her arm around the small framed girl.

"I'm sorry, you have to. We have to find your father, he's a dangerous man" Stella says.

"No!" Adia barks, pulling away sharply from Stella.

"My father didn't do it…William did, it was William" Adia says through sobs.

"Who's William?" Stella asks,

"You're never going to believe me" Adia says calming down

"Try me, I'll do my best, I promise" Stella says. Adia points at Mac.

"But he doesn't, he won't believe me. I knew no one would believe me" Mac slowly approaches Adia and takes her hands.

"Adia, I want to protect you, you have to help us…tell us about William, is he a relative, a friend?" Mac asks, his more sensitive side surfacing.

"William is his other personality" Adia begins her story of ten years.

_Adia I do believe I failed you  
Adia I know I let you down  
Don't you know I tried so hard  
To love you in my way  
It's easy let it go...  
Adia I'm empty since you left me  
Trying to find a way to carry on  
I search myself and everyone  
To see where we went wrong  
'cause there's no one left to finger  
There's no one here to blame  
There's no one left to talk to, honey  
And there ain't no one to buy our innocence  
'cause we are born innocent  
Believe me adia, we are still innocent  
It's easy, we all falter  
Does it matter?  
Adia I thought that we could make it  
But I know I can't change the way you feel  
I leave you with your misery  
A friend who won't betray  
I pull you from your tower  
I take away your pain  
And show you all the beauty you possess  
If you'd only let yourself believe that  
We are born innocent  
Believe me adia, we are still innocent  
It's easy, we all falter, does it matter?  
Believe me adia, we are still innocent  
'cause we are born innocent  
Adia we are still innocent  
It's easy, we all falter ... but does it matter?_

A/N So what did you guys think? Should I carry it one? I apologise if it seems rushed. I was trying to write the idea down before I forgot it. This fic hasn't been proof read so I'm sorry if it appears disorganised.

I hope you liked it, please leave a comment and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Smacked is one the way because I believe there is not enough of it in this world!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews guys

Thanks for the reviews guys! It's concert season at the moment and I'm playing in proms everywhere at the mo so it's difficult to update regularly.

Another thing, the lyrics at the end of the last chapter are from the song "Adia" by Sarah McLachlan. It's a really nice song.

Anyway on with the story.

Chapter Two: William

Adia found herself seated in a dark clammy interrogation room in NYPD and it had an uncanny resemblence to all the cop TV shows she'd seen.

"It's very important we find your father, Adia, do you understand?" Mac asked her steadily.

"William did it" She said her voice trembling. She curses herself for sounding like a child in school blaming another for a petty school crime. Mac removes some photographs from a file and places them neatly infront of her. She gasps in horror, four women slashed to death; their babies suffocated. The colour red illuminates the scene in each picture. Adia sobs in pure denial.

"We know your father did this, and we have reason to believe he will do it again and again until he is caught" Mac says calmly. Stella watched the girl crumble wondering what on earth could be going through her mind.

"I didn't know what he was capable of, I didn't realise he'd do something like this" Adia says slowly gaining control over her words.

"Why didn't you call the police?" Stella asked.

"Because, I knew no one would believe me if I told you about William. My father doesn't even know about William. He just complains about lapses in his memory" Adia explains having achieved Mac and Stella's undivided attension.

"Did you tell him?" Mac asked watching Adia shake her head in response.

"William's done some horrible things, I was afriad what my father would do if he knew what he'd done" Adia says suddenly realising she may have to expand her explanation.

"What sort of things?" Stella asks fearing the answer. Adia doesn't respond and looks down at her hands resting on the table.

"Adia?" Mac asks her.

"It started when my mother died. A drunk driver ploughed into her car and killed her instantly when Charlie was two months old"

"Who's Charlie, Adia?" Stella asks putting her hands over Adia's to stop them from shaking.

"My little brother" she says, "but he died of SIDS" she abruptly ends the conversation hoping they will pitty her and move on in the conversation. The guilty is too much to bear.

"I'm sorry" Mac says. The tone in his voice alerts to Adia that he's not just saying that and she gets the feeling he's been through the same experience in some way.

"Tell us about that night, it must have been hard for you, how old were you?" Stella asks her.

"I was 10, Charlie was nearly four months…the paramedics tried to revive him but…he was gone, they said it was an accident"

"Did they tell you that?" Mac asked, sensing there was something deeper needing to be surfaced.

"Yes"

"Was it an accident?" He continued watching the tears build up in Adia's eyes.

"Yes! I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to hurt him! I was protecting him! I was ten years old I didn't understand, I didn't know I swear, It was an accident" she shouted suddenly slamming her fists on the table in distress. Mac and Stella exchange glances. Even though they had gone off at a tangent, they were determined to attempt to help this broken girl.

"You did it? Why?" Stella asked calmly.

"My dad didn't handle my mother's death very well. That's when he started to change, he'd go out drinking and come home completely wasted every night. He was fired from his job and when the money ran out, he got a job at a bar. I made sure Charlie was asleep when he got home, and up and ready for the baby sitter in the morning, I looked after him. I thought that was who my father had become but there were days when he was the dad I'd always had, it was like nothing had ever changed. Then other days he was unbarable. He kept blaming William, I just that William was a friend."

"Did William hurt you?" Stella asks emphasising the _William_

"He hit me, he hit me a lot" Adia said, a small sob escaping her mouth.

"What it William or your father you came home that night?" Mac asked.

"William came home late, I was asleep but he woke me up and I went down stairs. He just started yelling and shouting throwing things around. I ran back upstairs into Charlie's room, I was scared what he would do if Charlie woke up. By the time I got there he was already crying, I tried to make him stop, I fed him, I bounced him, I sang to him but he wouldn't stop. Then William came up stairs and said if I couldn't stop the baby from crying he would come in and kill us both. So I held him, I held him tight to protect him and I kept saying over and over again 'please, baby please you've gotta stop crying now'" Adia sobbed, a silent tear slid down Stella face as she watched Adia brake even more.

"and I thought he was sleeping, just sleeping. So I put him back in his crib and went back to sleep, I woke up in the morning and my father was holding him crying and the paramedics were trying to save him but it was too late…I held him too tight" Adia finished sobbing.

"It's alright, Adia. You were afraid, you were just a child you didn't understand" Stella said trying to comfort Adia.

"My father hasn't killed anyone but I'm just as bad as William" Adia continued.

"No, Adia!" Mac said, "You were protecting Charlie, you did nothing wrong, you were scared"

Silence fell over the room. Stella wiped the loose tears away from her eyes, these hadn't gone unnoticed by Mac.

"Where would William go?" Mac asked. Suddenly, the shrill tone of Adia's cell phone wailed in the interrogation room. With shking hands she answered it.

"Hello?" she said

_Honey, it's me where are you?_

"erm, at school still" she lied "Where have you been I've been out of my mind"

"_I don't know, William took me on a wonder but don't worry, it's just me…I'm still coming to watch you at the church for your singing later"_

"Oh, ok" she said.

"_I'll see you there ok?" _

Adia snapped the phone shut.

"What is it? Who was it?"

"It was my father, William's gone for now. I'm doing a concert tonight and he said he's going to come" Adia said to no one in particular.

"You know we'll have to arrest him" Mac says sensitivly

"He may not even turn up, if William has other plans" Adia began. "What will happen to him then?" Adia asked.

"He'll undergo a psychological examination and if he does have a Multiple personality disorder, his lawyer will probably make him plead insanity" Mac explained.

"Oh, God, he's all I've got!" Adia cried.

No matter what, Stella and Mac could not change what had been done and had no control over what happened to this girl's only living relative. Stella couldn't bare to sit and watch the young girl sob hysterically, her own tears threatening to fall. She got up and left the room as quickly as possible before anyone could notice how badly affected she'd been. It was unusual for her to react to cases and, sensing her unease, Mac followed her out of the interrogation room.

Stella was sitting outside the interrogation room when Mac found her and sat on a vacent seat next to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave like that" she began to humiliated at her weakness to look him in the eye.

"It's ok, this is going to be a difficult case, Stella. If you want I can assign you another case" Mac begins but Stella shakes her head.

"No, she needs us. She trusted us enough to tell us about her horrid life. We can't abandon her now…it's not fair" Stella says tears on the brink of pouring. Mac puts his strong arm around her shoulder and she sinks into his comforting embrace.

"It's going to be ok, we're going to help her" Mac says rubbing her back

"We're taking her father away from her" she argues.

"He's ill, he's going to get the help he needs but no jury is going to let him get away with what he's done. We can't do anymore than we already have. We just have to be there for her" Mac says feeling a strange sensation at the thought of having Stella in his arms.

Mac wasn't sure how long they had been there but they remained that way for quite some time before Adia emerged from the room.

"He'll be coming to this concert. I'm sure of it. Bring your guys…I just want him to get better" Adia said monotonously. Mac and Stella stared at her.

"Is this betrayal?" Adia asks weakly, Stella gets up from Mac's embrace and pulls her into a comforting hug.

"Your doing the right thing, I promise" Stella says muttering into the young girl's long brown hair. Adia pulls away.

"Good, because if it's the wrong thing, someone will die. You've seen what William can do, he will kill if he doesn't get what he wants" Adia says, in such a creepy tone that makes even Mac shudder.

"I don't want either of you to die, you've been too good to me. I can't loose you two as well. Let me help, I'm the only one who understands because if you do this alone…" Adia paused.

"Someone will die today, there's no telling what he'll do"


	3. Chapter 3

"You just do your thing, Adia

"You just do your thing, Adia. Don't worry about a thing" Mac said patting her arm supportivly. Adia was nervous, looking left and right over her shoulder for any signs of her father.

"You look lovely by the way" Stella said when silence had fallen upon the trio.

"I don't feel very well" Adia said, her head was spinning and her throat was dry.

"It will be alright, you're probably just nervous for your concert, I'm sure you'll be fine" Mac tried to sympathise with Adia but noticed how pale and clammy her face had become. Stella elbowed him in the ribs.

"Mac! We're about to take her father away…" Stella scolded. Things were hard enough as it was without Mac attempting to be child-friendly. Although it wasn't his fault he really wasn't very good at it. However, Stella never doubted that he would make a great father one day.

"I guess I should take me place then" Adia said turning her back on the two people who were going to take her father to a place she'd tried very hard to keep him away from. She was doing it for Charlie, and her mother.

Mac and Stella watched Adia make her way to the front of the church. Mac put his head in his hands.

"This is so awquard" he said sighing heavily.

"I know, I just hope she doesn't think we're her enemies" Stella said. Mac put a comforting arm on her shoulder.

"She knows it's the right thing to do. We'll help her" He finished. Stella turned to him.

"We? I thought you said she wasn't our problem anymore?" she said raising her eyebrows.

"I know what I said before but you've obviously got your heart set on caring for this kid and someone's got to keep an eye on you" he said jokingly.

"Oh Thanks!" she replied sarchastically. The lights went down, Mac cursed.

"Great! She never said this was going to happen! We're never going to see him in the dark" Mac groaned. Stella shushed him.

"We'll block the exits so no one can exit at the end. Just let him watch his daughter for the last time" Stella reasoned.

"What if William decides to drop in?" Mac questioned. It was a good question that Stella didn't know the answer to.

"Adia says he doesn't like classical music so he probably won't come out if he can hear it" Stella said.

"That means we'll be arresting the wrong personality…god I so hate this job sometimes" Mac whispered. They watched as Adia stepped forward ahead of the rest of the choir.

The choir begins the tranquil harmony of "The Bluebird" by Stanford (AN:This is a georgous piece of a cappella choral music. It's worth listening to, it's just so beautiful!)

Adia's solo soprano voice carried beautifully over the acoustics of the church.

The first half of the concert went without a hitch and Mac and Stella hadn't taken long to find Adia's father. As the lights went down again, they positioned themseleves close by him to nab him incase he made a quick escape at the end.

At the end of the concert, the choir filed off the alter but Adia remained where she was, she watched at Mac and Stella approached her father, tapping him on the shoulder. She watched him struggle as they led him away, tears spilling over her eyes as her stomach churned and her head spun. She saw Stella briefly look over at her before Adia passed out cold on the alter steps.

"Mac! Adia just passed out!" Stella said letting go of Adia's father's arm and leaving Mac to escourt him outside, she ran over to Adia who had been surrounded by members of the audience.

"It's alright, Adia. It's Stella, can you hear me?" Stella said gently brushing the sweaty hair out of Adia's eyes.

"Someone call 911!" Stella yelled taking control over the conversation.

"She's burning up!" Stella said placing a hand over Adia's forehead.

CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY

Stella had gone with Adia to the hospital and waited outside her hospital room while Adia was examined by the doctors. She wondered how Mac was getting on with Adia's father but wasn't prepared to leave Adia for a second. Her cell phone rang, she cursed having forgotten to turn it off. It was Mac, she was so desperate to hear his voice she answered it without thinking.

"Mac?" She said in a hushed tone.

"Hey, How is she?" he replied.

"I don't know, the doctor's are still examining her. How are you getting on?" she asked.

"He's been scheduled for a pysch assessment in the morning, he's dazed and confused, and in no state of mind to talk right now…do you want me to come down?" Mac asked.

Stella's heart was screaming at her to say she desperatly needed him but her head was telling her she needed to prove to him that she could cope on her own. She saw the doctor's emerge from Adia's room.

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks anyway, Mac, I'm sorry, but I've got to go. The doctors are out.Bye" she said quickly hanging up. The doctor walked over to her as she was hiding her cell phone back in her bag.

"Detective?" the doctor said.

"Yes, is she going to be ok?" Stella asked, her tiredness starting to show.

"Do you know how long these symptoms have been going on for?" he asked calmly but the cogs working in Stella brain told her that it wasn't going to be good news.

"What symtoms? I've only known her for a couple of days" Stella replied shaking her head. She spent all her time trying to nail the killer and not getting to know Adia.

"We're not sure but I'm very worried about Adia's level of white blood cells…they seem to be mutating at attacking her body"

"Luekemia?" Stella gasped. As if this girl could have anything else bad happen to her.

"Like I said, we're not 100 sure just yet at this stage, we'll run more tests throughout the night and keep her under strict observation for now. We should know more this time tomorrow, would you be able to contact her family? They may be able to confirm how long she's had these symtoms" the doctor said, Stella's eyes were drawn to the door of the room where Adia was.

"Her mother is god knows where, she walked out on her and her father years ago. Her father is about to be charged with 8 murders" Stella said. The doctor stared at her, his mouth agape.

"I can try and get some info out of him…I'll call my colleague and get him to talk to him. If you don't mind, I think I'm going to stay here and keep her company" Stella said. The doctor nodded.

"She's lucky to have someone like you, Detective" the doctor said. "I'll be back in the morning"

Stella watched the doctor walk off. She fumbled a quick text to Mac, she knew if she called him he's sense the upset in her voice and be straight down there to rescue her like he always did.

Not long after she'd sent the text she opened her eyes disorientatidly as she felt something laid on top of her. She sat up and heard someone hush her.

"Shush, it's just me" it was Mac, he'd draped his jacket across her in an attempt to keep her warm.

"I told you not to come, I said I'd be fine" Stella said, her voice tierd, worn and full of dismay. Mac raised his eyebrows and took her hand in his.

"I know, but I wanted to be here for you. All the times you've been there for me, I think it's time I returned the favour. I hate seeing you like this, Stella" he said concentrating more on her long, slender fingers than her face.

"Well I'm doing better than Adia is right now" Stella said trying to rouse them back into reality.

"Why? What's wrong?" Mac asked concerned.

"Leukemia, that's what. They can't be sure just yet, that's why I sent you a text asking you to speak to her father about her showing signs of symptoms. Didn't you get my message?" Stella said irritated. Adia didn't have enough time for people making mistakes.

"No, I'm sorry, I forgot my cell phone. It's back at the lab and I haven't been there since this morning" Mac said apologetically. Stella was in no state of mind to settle for an apology. She got up sighing heavily and stormed off. Did she have to everything herself.

"Don't you dare leave her, Mac!" She yelled at a startled Mac. He watched her stalk off, having no idea what had just really happened. Never in a million years would he ever do anything to intensionally hurt Stella but it had appeared that he had to he obeyed her.

He stayed all night.


End file.
